CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 



Samuel D. Babcock, 

President. 



George Wilson, 

Secretary. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. .E-?A^ 

Shelf .)/-AM£ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ; 



Banquet 



GlYEN BTTHE 




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in Honor of ine 




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TO THE (^EITTENNlKIi {[ELEBK21TIOK 
of "bhe 

New York, November 5T", 1881. 






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INTRODUCTORY 



The revolt of the American colonies was not only a 
revolt against the political oppressions, but also against 
the commercial restrictions of the mother conntry. The 
policy of England was one of monopoly in mannfactures 
and of exclusion in commerce. She held to herself not 
only the right to supply everything that the colonies 
needed, but also forbade commercial intercourse with any 
foreign nation except in her own vessels. 

The conscious masters of a continent, our forefathers 
chafed under this narrow, selfish control. It was the clause 
in the treaty entered into by France in 1778, declaring the 
purpose of the Alliance to be to secure and guarantee to 
the United States commercial as well as political indepen- 
dence, which dissolved as by a cabalistic word the ancestral 
hatred which the people of the colonies had inherited from 
their English parentage ; a hatred fostered by religious an- 
tipathy and enhanced by the near recollections of border 
warfare, with its Indian horrors. It was the freedom of 
the seas which the nations joined to wrest from the arro- 
gant power whose proud boast it was to rule the waves. 

In the early hours of this struggle Lafayette inter- 
vened ; generous and alone, yet accompanied by the sym- 
pathy of thousands of the noble race whose aspirations 
have been always set to a high point. The enterprise of 
Lafayette kindled the enthusiasm for liberty upon the 



11 

sacred pile already reared by tlie philanthropy and philoso- 
phy of the eighteenth century. Hundreds followed in the 
path, and ere long the Nation pledged itself, by solemn 
treaty, to the cause of liberty. 

It was litting that the anniversary of the glorious victory 
gained by the allied arms of France and the United States, 
wdiicli secured the objects of the alliance, the iDolitical and 
commercial independence of the United States, should be 
celebrated on the battle field, and that onr ancient ally 
should be invited to join in the commemoration. It was 
fitting, also, that the Governor of the State of New- York 
should name a Commission to extend its courtesies to the 
distinguished guests — doubly fitting when it is remembered 
that while the soil of New- York was protected by the 
troops of our allies. New- York City alone to the very last 
in the occupation of the enemy, had not, as her sister 
cities, the opj^ortunity of expressing her thanks to her 
deliverers before their departure from America at the close 
of hostilities. 

The Chamber of Commerce, an ancient colonial institu- 
tion, was re-organized at the close of the Revolution by 
men, many of whom had borne honorable part in the 
armed struggle. Their descendants are among us to-day. 
Thus it was becoming in it, also, to express a desire to 
take part in this National welcome. In what manner this 
purpose was carried out the folloAving pages show. 

New- York, Decemher 10, 1881. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Resolutions of the Chamber of Commerce 1 

Guests of the Nation 3 

The Banquet 7 

Introductory Remarks of Mr. James M. Brown, Vice-President of the 

Chamber of Commerce g 

Speech of M. Max Outrey, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
potentiary of France, Chief of the Delegation 10 

Speech of M. le Marquis de Rochambeau 11 

Speech of Col. Arndt Von Steuben 12 

Speech of the Rev. Richard S. Stobrs, D. D 13 

Speech of the Hon. William M. Evarts 24 

Speech of Mr. A. A. Low 31 

Speech of the Hon. Carl Schurz 36 

Speech of Mr. John Austin Stevens 43 

Merchants and others present or represented at the Banquet, 49 



RESOLUTIONS 



At a special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of 
the State of New- York, held September 29, 1881, the 
following preamble and resolutions, submitted by Mr. 
JoHisr AusTiJsr Stevens, were unanimously adopted : 

Whereas^ The Chamber of Commerce of the State of 
New- York, instituted in 1768, chartered by royal au- 
thority in 1770, and re- organized in 1784, with its charter 
and privileges confirmed by the Legislature of the State, 
is the oldest commercial body in the United States, and 
has ever been a recognized representative of its mercantile 
interests ; and 

Whereas^ The first treaty entered into with these United 
States was that made by France in 1778, which declared 
the " essential and direct end of the alliance" to be " to 
maintain effectually the liberty, sovereignty and independ- 
ence, absolute and unlimited, of the United States, as well 
in matters of government as of commerce ;" and 

Whereas^ The friendship then pledged by France to the 
United States has been faithfully and honorably main- 
tained for more than a century ; and 

Whereas^ The Government of the Republic of France, 
at the invitation of the Congress of the United States, has 
commissioned a delegation representing it, who are now on 
their way to this country, to take part in the Celebration 
of the Victory achieved at Yorktown, the 19th of October, 



1781, by the allied army and naval forces of tlie two 
countries; and 

Whereas, This delegation is accompanied by the repre- 
sentatives of the family of Lafayette, of the Count de 
RocHAMBEAij, the Count de Geasse, the Marquis de Saint 
Simon, and descendants of officers who served in the 
French Army and JSTavy under their command ; and 

Whereas, Rei^resentatives of the family of Baron de 
Steuben, Major-General of the Army of the United States, 
are also about to visit this country, on the invitation of the 
Government of the United States, to take part in the same 
celebration ; and 

Whereas, His Excellency the Governor of the State of 
New- York, in pursuance of a resolution of the Senate of 
the State, has proffered the courtesies of the State to the 
National guests, hereinbefore named, and has appointed a 
Commission, under the great seal of the State, to welcome 
them and extend such courtesies ; therefore. 

Resolved, That this Chamber, as a chartered institution 
of the State, hereby expresses its desire to participate in 
such welcome and courtesies to the representatives of our 
ancient national and commercial ally and the other foreign 
guests. 

Resolved, That a Committee of this Chamber, of whom 
the President and Secretary to be members, be appointed 
by the President, to confer with the Commission appointed 
by His Excellency the Governor, of which the Hon. John 
A. King is Chairman, as to the manner in which this 
Chamber may most appropriately join in the proposed 
hospitalities. 

Resolved, That the same Committee be authorized to 
make arrangements for tendering to the distinguished 
guests the courtesies of the merchants of the City at such 
time as may suit their convenience. 



GUESTS OF THE NATION. 



M. Max Outre y, Minlstre PVenirpotentiaire de la France 

aux Etats Uhis, Chef de la delegation. 
M. LE Commandant Lichtenstein, Officler d'ordonnance 

du President Grevy,representant officiel du President^ 

de la Itepublique Frangaise. 

REPRESENTANT LE MiNISTERE DE8 AFFAIRES ETRANOiRES. 

M. Max Outret, Ministre Plenipotentiaire de la France 

aux Etats TJnis. 
M. DE CoRCELLE, Secretaire d) Anibassade. 
M. BouLARD PouQUEViLLE, Secretaire W Anibassade. 

Repesentant l'Armee Frangaise. 

M. BouLANGER, General de Brigade. 

M. BossAN, Colonel de Dragons. 

M. Blondel, Lieutenant-Colonel, directeur adjoint War- 

tillerie. 
M. Bureaux de Bust, Cliefde Bataillon du Genie, attacTie 

au ministere de la guerre. 
M. Mason, Capitaine de la Legion Etrangere. 
M. SiGisMOND DE Sahune, Lieutenant de Dragons. 

Representant la Marine Frangaise. 

M. Halligon, Contre Amiral, Commandant en chef de la 

Division Navale des Antilles. 
M. DE Pagnac, Capitaine de Vaisseau. 



M. Caveliek de Cuveeville, Capitaine de Vaisseau. 
M. Descamps, Capitaine def regale. 
M. DE LA Baeriere, Capitaine defregate. 
M. Schilling, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. 
M, Thomas, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. 
M. LE CoMTE DE Grasse, Lieutenant d' Infanterie de 
Marine. 

RePReSENTANT LE MiNISTERE DES BeAUX AeTB. 

M. Felix Eegamey. 

Les Lafayette. 

M. Bureaux dePust, CTief de Bataillon du Genie^ attache 

au minister e de la guerre. 
M. LE Comte de Beaumont. 
M. DE CoRCELLE, Secretaire W Anibassade. 
M. SiGiSMOND DE Sahune, Lieutenant de Cavalerie. 
M. Gaston de Sahune. 

RePRESENTANTS DES FAMILLES DES 0FFICIER3 FRAN5AIS QUI ONT 6ERYI 1 

YORKTOWN. 

M. LE Marquis de Kochambeau. 
M. LE Comte de Geasse. 
M. LE Comte d'Ollone. 

M. LE ViCOMTE d'HaUSSONVILLE. 

M. LE Baeon Henei d' Aboville. 
M. LE Baeon Cheistian d'Aboyille. 

M. LE YlCOMTE DE NOAILLES. 

M. LE Comte Laue de Lesteade. 
M. LE Comte de Gouvello. 

M. LE YlCOMTE d'OlLONE. 

Representing the family of Major-General the Baron de Steuben. 

Colonel Aendt yon Steuben. 
Captain Feitz von Steuben. 



CAPTAIlSr RiCHAED VON StETJBEN. 

Captain Eugen von Steuben. 
Lieutenant Cuno von Steuben. 
Lieutenant Beendt von Steuben. 
Lieutenant Anton von Steuben. 



OTHER GUESTS 



His Excellency Alonzo B. Coenell, Governor of the State 

of Weio- YorJc. 
Hon. Wm. R. Geace, Mayor of the Oity of New- York. 
Mr. Albeet Lefaivee, Consul-General of the Bepublic 

of France at New- York. 
Dr. Heemann A. Schumachee, Consul-General of the 

German Empire at New- York. 
Hon. Hamilton Fish. 
Hon. William M. Evaets. 
Hon. Gael Schuez. 
Hon. Feedeeick W. Sewaed. 
Hon. John A. King. 
Rev. RiCHAED S. Stoees, D. D. 
Rev. Heney C. Pottee, D. D. 



THE BANQUET. 



The Chamber of Commerce of the State of New- York, 
by resolutions adopted at a special meeting held on the 
29tli of September, 1881, expressed its desire to particij)ate 
in the reception and courtesies to the representatives of the 
French Eepublic, then on their way to the United States, 
and other national guests visiting the country, to attend 
the Centennial Celebration of the Victory at Yorktown. 
Accordingly, a Special Committee of thirteen members, 
corresponding with the original number of States, was 
appointed, who waited uiDon the distinguished guests 
shortly after their arrival, and through its Chairman, 
Mr. A. Gracie Kiis^g, tendered to them, in the name 
of the Chamber, a Banquet, at such time as would suit 
their convenience. The offer was cordially accepted by 
the delegation, and Saturday, the 5th of ]N"ovember, was 
fixed for the entertainment. 

The Banquet was given at Delmonico's, Fifth Avenue 
and Twenty-sixth-street. The Dining Hall on the occasion 
was superbly decorated with flowers, flags and festoons of 
evergreens. The flags of the United States and France 
were draped in groups over American shields around 
the walls ; cycas plumes depended from the tops of the 
mirrors, and long sprays of smilax, with flowers inter- 
twined, hung from the centre of the ceiling. 

Bernstein's orchestra furnished the music for the 



8 

occasion, beginning with Hail Columbia, and playing 
during the evening selections from Verdi, Meyerbeer, 
Gounod, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Straus and others. 

The card of invitation was partly engraved and partly 
etched, and six inches by eight in size. At the top 
a view of Yorktown, with the flags of France and the 
United States grouped together, with the laurel wreath 
of victory, and the dates, 1781 and 1881. On the lower 
part of the card a copy of Trumbull's painting of the 
Surrender of Cornwallis ; on the two sides, War by 
land and water, were represented, the one by the Flagship 
of Count de Grasse, the " Ville de Paris," the o,ther by 
earthworks, cannon, &c. ; on the corners four medallions, 
containing the portraits of Washington, Rochambeau, 
Lafayette and Steuben. 

The Menu was printed upon a blue satin banner, and at- 
tached to a standard of brass, the top of which was in the 
form of a Caduceus, (the rod of Mercury,) the symbol of 
Commerce. On the satin surrounding the Menu, which was 
printed upon a scroll held by the eagle, were represented 
in color at the top the seal of the Chamber of Commerce, a 
view of Yorktown, the dates, 1781 and 1881 ; on the side, 
the flags of France and the United States, with a French 
and American soldier in the costume of the last century ; 
under this a view of the Giant' s Gap, on the Union Pacific 
Railroad, with a locomotive and train of cars in motion, 
suggestive of the enterprise and of the gigantic work which 
has been done in this country in the connection by rail of 
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, &c. Beneath all this the 
representative American-built steamship, "The City of 
Peking." The Menu, with its stand, was about fifteen 
inches high, and, with its blue satin, red device, and white 
tassels, (suggesting the national colors,) was a pleasing 
ornament for the table. 




CITY OF PEKING 



9 

Mr. James M. Bkotvn, Vice-President of the Chamber 
of Commerce, presided, in the absence of Mr. Samuel 
D. Babcock, the President. 

Grace was said by the Kev. Heistey C. Pottee, D. D. 

At nine o'clock, the cloth having been removed, the 
Vice-President of the Chamber called the assemblage to 
order, and said : 

REMARKS or MR. JAMES M. BROWN, VICE-PRESIDENT. 

Gentlemef : We meet this evening, on a very pleasant 
occasion, to honor the distinguished guests now with us, 
from the other side of the Atlantic, the representatives 
of the French Republic and the descendants of those who 
so nobly aided this country, in its infancy, during the 
War of Independence. [Applause.] Our distinguished 
French guests, and representatives of the family of Baron 
Steuben, came to this country to participate in the cele- 
bration that has lately taken place at Yorktown. [Ap- 
plause.] Soon they will return to their native countries. 
I hope their visit has been agreeable, and that they may 
reach their homes in safety, with pleasant recollections. 
[Cheers.] 

I much regret the absence, on this occasion, of the Presi- 
dent of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Samuel D. Babcock, 
caused by domestic affliction. We shall miss him very 
much. As Saturday night ends at 12 o'clock, and we hope 
to have several interesting sj^eeches before that hour, I 
shall detain you no longer, but proceed to announce the 
toasts prepared for this occasion : 

"The Memoet of Washington and Lafayette — In- 
dissolubly connected with the early history of our National 
existence." [Drank in silence — all standing.] 



10 
TnE Chaieman. — Gentlemen : The next regular toast is : 

*'The Republic of France and its Official Repee- 
8ENTATIVES." [Applause.] 

To wliich. I invite Mr. Outeey, tlie Minister of the Re- 
public of France, to respond. 

When Mr. Outeey rose to reply, he was received with 
enthusiastic cheers and waving of handkerchiefs. He spoke 
as follows : 

SPEECH OF M. MAX OUTRET, ENVOY EXTBAOEDINARY AND MINISTER 
PLENIPOTENTIARY OF FRANCE, CHIEF OF THE DELEGATION. 

Me. Peesident and Gentlemen : A few weeks ago 
the members of the French Delegation were warmly wel- 
comed in this City of New- York, where they first landed 
from France. Since then they have been the guests of 
the Federal Government, and of a number of the States 
whose history is more particularly connected with the 
events of the last century, as far at least as France is 
concerned. [Applause,] Everywhere, I am happy to say, 
they have received the same cordial greeting ; and it is a 
gratifying task for me to express, in their name, how much 
they have been touched by the kindness, the courtesy, and 
the delicate attentions shown to them. [Applause.] It has 
been, I assure you, a cause of great rejoicing for us to find 
so many proofs that the sincere sentiments of friendship 
that the French people entertain toward America are so 
fully reciprocated here ; and before our delegation leave 
these hospitable shores I desire to thank the United States 
once more, in behalf of France, for the kind reception made 
to its representatives. [Applause.] 

Our journey through different parts of the Union, though 



11 

quick and limited in time, has given us an opportunity to 
witness the progress made from the day of the surrender of 
Yorktown to the present time. [Applause.] We therefore 
feel proud to be received to-night by the honorable Cham- 
ber of Commerce of New- York, which is the highest ex- 
pression of this progress, and to be entertained by this 
old mercantile association of the country, whose powerful 
influence has so much contributed to the immense and 
wonderful prosperity that we see. In closing these short 
remarks, let me assure you, gentlemen, that all the repeated 
manifestations of affectionate good feeling will re-echo 
throughout France, from the Presidential residence to the 
home of the cottager. [Cheers, and cries of Vive la France !] 

The ChaieMais". — Gentlemen: The next toast is, " Otjr 
DiSTiT^GUiSHED FRENCH GuESTS — the descendants of Ro- 
CHAMBEAU, DE Grasse, Lafatette, and of the officers 
of the Army and Navy of France who served in America 
during the War of Independence." 

I have great pleasure in presenting to you the Marquis 
de RocHAMBEATJ, who will respond. [Great applause.] 

The Marquis de Rochambeaij was received with hearty 
cheering, and spoke in French, of which the following is a 
translation : 

SPEECH OF M. LE MARQUIS DE EOCHAMBEATJ. 

Gentlemen: My companions and myself, who have 
come to represent at the Centennial Celebration of the 
Victory at Yorktown, your brothers in arms of 1781, de- 
sire to thank you most earnestly for the warmth and 
cordial sympathy of your welcome. In the journey which 
we have just finished, necessarily brief, but so crowded 



12 

with experiences, we have been deeply impressed by the 
marvels of your industry and the enormous extent of your 
commerce, and we are happy to recognize the fact that 
your fathers, at whose side our ancestors fought, did not 
presume too much upon their resources in taking the first 
step toward becoming a great nation. [Loud cheers.] 

The Chairman. — Gentlemen : I give you the next regu- 
lar toast, to which Colonel Aendt von Steuben will reply : 

" The Representatives of the Family of the 3aron 
DE Steuben — whose services in behalf of our struggle for 
Freedom have always been recognized by our people ; in 
welcoming them to this Country, we desire to renew the 
assurances of the esteem in which we hold the memory 
of their renowned Ancestor." 

Col. VON Steuben responded in Gennan. He was re- 
ceived with warm applause. The following is a translation 
of his speech : 

SPEECH OF COL, ARNDT VOIST STEUBElSr. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : From the moment 
that the rej)resentatives of the Steuben family set foot 
in this country we have been treated with so great hospi- 
tality and distinction and honor, in remembrance of Baron 
VON Steuben, that we cannot find words to give expres- 
sion to the deep sentiments of gratitude with which we are 
animated. [Aj^plause.] 

In our brief stay in this country we have been struck 
with the greatness and vastness of this nation. The great- 
ness of a nation does not depend merely upon the work 
and industry which are developed, but also in the sym- 
pathy which inspires its people, and of this sympathy we 



13 

find liere an abundance. [Cheers.] Gentlemen, with hearts 
full of gratitude we leave your shores, but rest assured 
that all over Germany there will be heard expressions of 
appreciation and joy at the treatment the representatives 
of Germany and of the Steuben family have received in 
America. [Applause.] 

The Chaikmax. — Gentlemen : I will now give you the 
next regular toast, and call upon the Rev. Dr. Stokes to 
respond : 

" The Yictoet at Yoektown. — It has the rare distinc- 
tion among victories, that the power which seemed humbled 
by it looks back to it now without regret, while the peoples 
who combined to secure it, after the lapse of a century of 
years, are more devoted than ever to the furtherance of the 
freedom to which it contributed. ' ' [Applause. ] 

Rev. Dr. Stoees was received with warm applause. He 
said : 

speech of the rev. richard s. storrs, d. d. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen oe the Chamber of Commerce : 
It is always pleasant to respond to your invitations, and 
to join with you on these festival occasions. You remem- 
ber the reply of the English lady, (Lady Dufeekust, -pev- 
haps,) when the poet, Rogees, sent her a note, saying: 
"Will you do me the favor to breakfast with me to- 
morrow?" to which she returned the still more laconic 
autograph, ' ' Won' 1 1 ? " [Laughter. ] PerhaiDS one might 
as well have that lithographed, as his reply to your cordial 
and not infrequent invitations. [Laughter.] I do not 
know whether you are aware of it on this side of the East 
River — perhaps you don' t read the newspapers much — but 



14 

in that better part of the great metropolis in which it is 
my privilege to live, [laughter,] we think of showing our 
apj)reciation of this Chamber of Commerce by electing for 
Mayor, next week, one of your younger members, the son 
of one of your older and most distinguished members, my 
honored friend, Mr. Low. [Applause.] 

It is certainly especially pleasant to be here this evening, 
Mr. President and Gentlemen, when we meet together, men 
of commerce, men of finance, lawyers, journalists, physi- 
cians, clergymen, of whatever occupation, all of us, I am 
sure, patriotic citizens, to congratulate each other upon 
what occurred at Yorktown, a hundred years ago,- on the 
19th of October, 1781, and to express our hearty honor and 
esteem for these distinguished descendants or representa- 
tives of the gallant men who then stood with our fathers 
as their associates and helpers. [Applause.] It has 
always seemed to me one of the most significant and 
memorable things connected with our Revolutionary strug- 
gle, that it attracted the attention, elicited the sympathy, 
inspired the enthusiasm, and drew out the self-sacrificing 
co-operation, of so many noble spirits, loving freedom, in 
different parts of western and central Europe. [Ap- 
plause.] You remember that Lord Camdeist testified, from 
his own observation, in 1775, about the time of the battle 
of Concord Bridge, that the merchants, tradesmen, and 
common i)eople of England, were on the side of the 
colonists, and that only the landed interest really sustained 
the Government. 

So the more distant Poland sent to us the Count 
Pulaski, of noble family, who had been a brilliant leader 
for liberty at home, who fought gallantly in our battles, 
and who poured out his life in our behalf in the assault 
upon Savannah. [Cheers.] And it sent another, whose 
name has been one to conjure with for freedom, from that 



15 

day to this ; who planned tlie works on Bemis Heights, 
against which Burgoyne in vain hurled his assault ; who 
superintended the works at West Point ; who, returning 
to his own country, fought for Poland as long as there was 
a Poland to fight f or ; whom the very Empire against 
which he had so long and so fiercely contended, on behalf 
of his country, honored and eulogized after his death— 
Thaddeus Kosciusko. [Cheers.] 

Germany sent us Vow Steubeist, [applause,] one, but 
a host, whose services in our war were of immense and con- 
tinual aid to our troops ; who fought gallantly at York- 
town ; and who chose, afterwards, to finish his life in the 
country for which he had fearlessly drawn his sword. [Ap- 
plause.] France sent us Lafayette ; [loud cheers ;] young, 
brilliant, with everything to detain him at home, who had 
heard of our struggle at Metz, you remember, from a con- 
versation of the Duke of Gloucester, in whom the purpose 
was there formed, in a flash, to identify himself with the for- 
tunes of the remote, poor, unfriended, and almost unknown 
colonists ; who came, against every opposition, in a ship 
which he had bought and fitted for the purpose, and whose 
name (as has well been said in the sentiment in which we 
have already united,) will be joined imperishably with that 
of WASHiNGTOisr, as long as the history of our country con- 
tinues. [Applause.] With him came John" de Kalb, the 
intrepid Alsatian, who, after fighting gallantly through the 
war, up to the point of his death, fell at Camden, pierced 
at last by many wounds. [Cheers.] With them, or after 
them, came others — Gouvioisr, Duportail — some of their 
names are hardly now familiar to us — Duplessis, Du- 
PONCEAU, afterwards distinguished in literature and in 
law, in the country in which he made his residence. There 
came great supplies of military equipment, important — we 
may say indispensable — aids of money, clothing, and of 



16 

all the apparatus of war ; and finally, came the organized 
naval and military force, with great captains at the head 
— RocHAMBEAU, [loud clieers,] Chastellux, de Choisy, 
DE Lauzun, St. Simon, de Grasse — all this force brilliant- 
ly representative, as we know, of our foreign allies, in the 
victory at Yorktown. [Applause.] 

I suppose there has never been a stranger contrast, on 
any field of victory, than that which was there presented, be- 
tween the worn clothing of the American troops, soiled with 
mud, rusted with storm, wet with blood, and the fresh white 
uniforms of the French troops, ornamented with colored 
trimmings ; the poor, plain battle-flags of the Colonies, 
stained with smoke and rent with shot, compared with the 
shining and lofty standards of the French army, bearing on 
a ground of brilliant white silk, emblazoned in gold em- 
broidery, the Bourbon lilies. [Applause.] Indeed, such a 
contrast went into everything. The American troops were 
made up of men who had been, six years before, mechanics, 
farmers, merchants, fishermen, lawyers, teachers, with no 
more thought of any ex^^loits to be accomplished by them 
on fields of battle than they had of being elected Czars of all 
the Russias. They had a few victories to look back to : 
Bennington, Stillwater, Cowpens, King's Mountain, and 
one great triumph at Saratoga. They had many defeats to 
remember : Brandy wine, where somebody at the time said 
that the mixture of the two liquors was too much for the 
sober Americans, [laughter,] Camden, Guilford Court 
House, and others, and one tragic and terrible defeat on 
the heights of Long Island. They were men who had been 
the subjects, and many of them the officers, of the very 
power against which they were fighting; and some of the 
older among them may have stood for that power, atLouis- 
bourg or Quebec. On the other hand, the French troops 
were part of an army the lustre of whose splendid history 



17 



could be traced back for a thousand years, beyond the 
Crusades, beyond Charlemagne. Their officers had been 
trained in the best military schools of the time. They 
were amply provided with the last and choicest equipments 
of war. Tliey had gallantly achieved victory, or as gallantly 
sustained defeat, on almost every principal battle-field in 
Europe. They Avere now confronting an enemy whom that 
army had faced in previous centuries, on sea and land ; 
and very likely something of special exhilaration and ani- 
mation went into their spirit from thought of this, as they 
assailed the English breast-works, swarming into the tren- 
ches, capturing the redoubts, storming the lines, with that 
strange battle-shout, in our Republican American air 
' ' Vive le Roi ! ' ' [Applause. ] 

A singular combination ! Undoubtedly, to unfold the 
influences which had led to it would take months instead 
of minutes, and occupy volumes rather than sentences. I 
think, however, that we reckon too much on national 
rivalry, or national animosity, when we seek to explain it, 
although these no doubt had their part in it. Doubtless the 
eager efforts of Silas Dean, our first diplomatic repre- 
sentative in Europe-efforts too eager tor courtesy or wis- 
dom—had a part in it ; and the skillful diplomacy of 
Franklin had, as we know, a large and important influ- 
ence upon it. The spirit of adventure, the desire for dis- 
tinction upon fresh fields, had something to do with it. 
But the principal factor in that great effect was the 
spirit of freedom-the spirit that looked to the advance- 
ment and the maintenance of popular liberty among the 
peoples of the earth, wherever civilization had gone ; [ap- 
plause ;] that spirit which was notably expressed by' Van 
der Capellen, the Dutch orator and statesman, when 
he vehemently said in presence of the States-General of 
Holland, in reply to an autograph letter of George III., 



18 

soliciting their aid, that this was a business for hired jani- 
zaries rather than for soldiers of a free State ; that it would 
be, in his judgment, " sn]3erlatively detestable" to aid in 
any way to overcome the Americans, whom he regarded as a 
brave j)eoi3le, lighting in a manly, honorable, religious 
manner, for the rights which had come to them, not from 
any British legislation, but from God Almighty. [Ap- 
l^lause. ] 

That spirit was native to Holland. But that spirit was 
also widely in France. The old temper of enthusiasm for 
liberty, both civil and religious, had not passed away. 
The sixty years and more since the accession of Louis 
XV. had perhaps only intensified this spirit. It had en- 
tered the higher philosophical minds. They were medi- 
tating the questions of the true social order, with daring 
disregard of existing institutions ; and their spirit and 
instructions found an echo even in our Declaration of In- 
dependence. They made it more theoretical than English 
State-papers have usually been. Palpably, the same spirit 
which afterwards broke into fierce exhibition when the 
Bastille was stormed, in 1789, or when the first Republic 
was declared, in 1792, was already at work in France ; at 
work there far more vitally and energetically than was yet 
recognized by those in authority ; while it wrought, perhaps, 
in the field offered by this country, more eagerly and 
largely because it was repressed at home. So it was that 
so many brilliant Frenchmen came as glad volunteers. It 
was because of this electric and vital spirit, looking to- 
wards freedom. Travelling was slow. Communication 
between the continents was tardy and difficult. The sail- 
ing ship, dependent upon the wind, hugged the breeze, or 
was driven before the blast, across the stormy North 
Atlantic. The steamship was unknown. The telegraph 
wire was no more imagined than it was imagined that the 



19 

Rhine might flow a river of flame, or that the Jungfrau or 
the Weisshorn might go out on a journey. 

But there was this distributed spirit of freedom, propa- 
gating itself by means which we cannot wholly trace, and 
to an extent which was scarcely recognized, which brought 
volunteers in such numbers to our shores, that Washing- 
ton, you know, at one time expressed himself as embar- 
rassed to know what to do with them ; and there were 
vivid and high aspirations going up from multitudes of 
households and of hearts, in central and in western 
Europe, which found realization in what we claim as the 
greatest and most fruitful of American victories. [Ap- 
plause.] 

The impulse given by that victory to the same spirit is 
one on which we never cnn look back without gratitude 
and gladness. It was an impulse not confined to one nation, 
but common to all which had had part in the struggle. We 
know what an impulse it gave to everything greatest and 
best in our own country. The spirit of popular exhilaration, 
arising from that victory at Yorktown, was a force which 
really established and moulded our National Government. 
The nation rose to one of those exalted points, those 
supreme levels, in its public experience, where it found 
grander wisdom, where it had nobler forecast, than perhaps 
it otherwise could have reached. In consequence of it, our 
Government came, which has stood the storm and stress of 
a hundred years. We may have to amend its Constitution, 
in time to come, as it has been amended in the past ; but 
we have become a Nation by means of it. It commands the 
attention — to some extent, the admiration — of other peoples 
of the earth ; and, at all events, it is bound to endure upon 
this continent as long as there remains a continent here for 
it to rest upon. [Cheers.] Then came the incessant move- 
ment westward ; the vast foreign immigration ; the occu- 



20 

pation of the immense grain-fields, which might almost 
feed the hungry world ; the multiplication of manufac- 
turers, supplying everything, nearly, that we need ; the 
uncovering of mines, bringing out the wealth which has 
actually disturbed the money-standards of the world ; the 
transforming of territories into States, by a process as swift 
and magical almost as that by which the turbid mixture of 
the chemist is crystalized into its delicate and translucent 
spars ; the building of an Empire, on the Western coast, 
looking out towards the older continent of Asia. [Cheers.] 

We know, too, what an impulse was given to popular 
rights and hopes in England. We rejoice in all the progress 
of England. That salute, fired to the British flag, the other 
day, at Yorktown — [cheers] — it was a stroke of the hammer 
on the horologe of Time, which marks the coming of a new 
era, when national animosities shall be forgotten, and only 
national sympathies and good- will shall remain. It might 
seem, perhaps, to have in it a tone of the old "diapason of 
the cannonade ;" but, on the thoughtful ear, falls from the 
thundering voice of those guns a note of that supreme 
music which fell on the ear of Longfellow, when, "like 
a bell with solemn, sweet vibration," he heard "once more 
the voice of Christ say. Peace ! " [Loud applause.] 

We rejoice in all the progress of English manufactures, 
which extracts every force from each ounce of coal, and 
pounds or weaves the English iron into nearly everything for 
human use, except boots and brown bread — [laughter] — in 
the commerce which spreads its sails on all the seas — in the 
wealth and splendor that are assembled in her cities ; but 
we rejoice, more than all, in the constant progress of those 
liberal ideas to which such an impulse was given by this 
victory of Yorktown. [Cheers.] You remember that Fox 
is said to have heard of it "with a wild delight," while 
even he may not have anticipated its full future outcome. 



21 

You remember the hissing hate with which he was often 
assailed, as when the tradesman of Westminster, whose 
vote he had solicited, Hung back at him the answer: "I 
have nothing for you, sir, but a halter !" — to which Fox, 
by the way, with instant wit and imperturbable good 
nature, smilingly responded : "I could not think, my dear 
sir, of dejDriving you of such an interesting family relic." 
[Laughter.] Look back to that time, and then see the pro- 
digious advance of liberal ideas in England, the changed 
political condition of the workingmen. Look at the posi- 
tion of that great Commoner who now regulates English 
policy, who equals Fox in his liberal principles, and sur- 
passes him in his eloquence — Mr. Gladstone. [Cheers.] 
.The English troops marched out of Yorktown, after their 
surrender, to that singularly appropriate tune, as they 
thought it, ' ' The World turned Upside Down. ' ' [Laughter. | 
But that vast disturbance of the old equilibrium, which 
had balanced a King against a Nation, has given to Eng- 
land the treasures of statesmanshij), the treasures of elo- 
quence,- a vast part of the splendor and the power which 
are now collected under the reign of that one royal woman 
in the world, to whom every American heart pays i ts eager 
and unforced fealty — Queen Yictokia. [Loud applause.] 
We know what an impulse was given to the same spirit 
in Germany. Mr. Schijez will tell us of it, in eloquent 
words. But no discourse that he can utter, however bril- 
liant in rhetoric, no analysis, however lucid, no clear and 
comprehensive sweep of his thought, though expressed in 
words which ring in our ears and live in our memories, can 
so fully and vividly illustrate it to us as does the man 
himself, in his character and career — an old-world citizen 
of the American Republic, whose marvellous mastery of our 
tough English tongue is still surpassed by his more marvel- 



' 22 

lous mastery over the judgments and the hearts of those 
who hear him use it. [Cheers.] 

What an imj)ulse was given to the same spirit in France, 
we know. At first, it fell upon a people not altogether 
prepared to receive it. There was, therefore, a passionate 
effervescence, a fierce ebullition, into popular violence and 
popular outrage, which darkened for the time the world's 
annals. But we know that the spirit never died ; and, 
through all the winding and bloody paths in which it has 
marched, it has brought France to the fair consummation 
of its present power, and wealth, and renown. [Cheers.] 
We rejoice in its multiform manufactures, which weave the 
woolen or silken fibre into every form of tissue and fabric ; in 
the delicate, dainty skill, which keeps the time of all crea- 
tion with its watch- work and clock-work ; which ornaments 
beauty with its jewelry, and furnishes science with finest 
instruments. We rejoice in the fourteen thousand miles of 
railway there constructed, almost all of it within forty 
years ; we rejoice in the riches there accumulated ; we 
rejoice in the expansion of the poi)ulation from the twenty- 
three millions, of the day of Yorktown, to the thirty- eight 
millions of the present ; but we rejoice, more than all, in the 
liberal spirit evermore there advancing ; which has built the 
fifteen Universities, and gathered the forty-one thousand 
students into them ; which builds libraries and higher 
seminaries, and multiplies common schools ; which gives 
liberty, if not license, to the press. [Cheers.] We rejoice 
in the universal suffrage, which puts the 632 Deputies 
into the Chamber, and which combines the Chamber of 
Deputies with the Senate in a National Assembly to elect 
the President of the Republic. We rejoice in the rapid 
political education now and always going on in France; 
and that she is to be hereafter a noble leader in Europe, in 



23 

illustrating the security, and commending the benefits, of 
Republican institutions. [Applause.] 

France has been foremost in many things. She was fore- 
most in chivalry ; and the most magnificent spectacles and 
examples which that institution ever furnished were on her 
fields. She was foremost in the Crusades ; and the volcanic 
country around Auvergne was not more full of latent fire 
than was the spirit of her people at the Council of Cler- 
mont, or before the appeals of Petee the Hermit and St. 
Beefaed. She led the march of philosophical discussion, 
in the middle ages. She has been foremost in many achieve- 
ments of science and art. She is foremost to-day in pierc- 
ing with tunnels the mountain chains, and cutting canals 
through the great isthmuses, that the wheels of commerce 
may roll unobstructed through rocky barriers, and the 
keels of commerce may sweep unhindered across the sands. 
But she has never yet had an office so illustrious as that 
which falls to her now— to show to Europe how Republican 
institutions stimulate industry, guarantee order, promote 
all progress in enterprise and in thought, and are the best 
and surest security for a Nation's grandest advancement. 
That enthusiasm which has led her always to champion 
ideas, which led her soldiers to say, in the first Revolution, 
"With bread and iron we will march to China," entering 
now into the fullfilment of this great office, will carry her 
influence, I think, to China and beyond it ; her peaceful 
influence, on behalf of the liberty for which she fought 
with us at Yorktown, and for which she has bled and 
struggled with a pathetic and lofty stubbornness ever 
since. [Cheers. ] 

I do not look back merely, then, from this evening. I 
see illustrated at Yorktown the lesson of that hour : that 
colonies maturing into great commonwealths, and peoples 
combining for common liberties, are the best pledge of the 



24 

world's future. But I look forward, as well, and see 
France in Europe, a Republic, the United States on this 
Continent, a Republic, standing again, and in the future, 
as before, shoulder to shoulder, expecting, with tranquil 
and exultant spirit, the grander victory yet to come ; the 
outcome of which shall be liberty to all the peoples of the 
world, and that benign and Divine peace which is the sure 
and sovereign fruit of such a liberty. [Applause.] 

The Chairman gave the sixth regular toast as follows, 
and called upon Hon. William M. Evaets to respond : 

"The French Alliance. — The amicable relations be- 
tween our two Countries, founded in 1778 by the Treaty of 
Amity and Commerce between the Nation of France and 
the American people, cemented in blood in 1781, renewed 
by this visit of our distinguished Guests, will we trust be 
perpetuated through all time." [Applause.] 

Mr. Eyarts was loudly cheered on rising. He said : 

SPEECH OF HON. WILLIAM M. ETARTS. 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Chamber of 
Commerce : It is with great pride, as well as with great 
pleasure, that I respond to a call in behalf of the merchants 
of the United States, as represented by the merchants of 
the great City of the United States, through this Ancient 
Guikl of the Chamber of Commerce, in paying their tribute 
of honor and applause to the French nation, that was 
present, as a nation, in the contests of our Revolution, 
and is present, here, as a nation, by its representatives, 
to-day ; [applause ;] and to the great Frenchmen that were 
present, with their personal heroism, in the struggles of the 
Revolution, and are present, here, in their personal de- 



25 

sceiidants, to see the fruits of that Revolution, and receive 
our respectful greeting ; [applause ;] and to the Germans, 
who were present, where they could not have been spared, 
in the great trials of our feeble nation, in its struggles 
against the greatest power in the world, and who are here, 
by the descendants of those heroic Germans, to join in this 
feast of freedom and of glory. [Aj)plause.] 

I felt a little doubt, Mr. Chairman, whether the etiquette 
of this occasion required me to speak in my own tongue, or 
in the German, or the French, (for I speak French and 
German equally well ;) [laughter ;] but I thought it would 
be a poor compliment, after all, to talk to these Frenchmen 
or these Germans in their native tongues. They surely 
hear enough of that at home. [Laughter.] 

Well, Mr. President, the French alliance was one of the 
noblest transactions in history. The 6th day of February, 
1778, witnessed the Treaty of Alliance, and the accompa- 
nying Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which filled out our 
Declaration of Independence, and made that an assured 
triumph, which was, till then, nothing but a heroic effort 
on our part. [Cheers.] I do not know that the Sixth of 
February has anywhere been honored in any due pro- 
portion to the Fourth of July ; but, for myself, as an 
humble individual, from the earliest moment, I have done 
all in my power to show my homage to that day, for on 
that day I was born. [Laughter and applause.] Now we 
talk the most, and must feel the most, and with great 
propriety, of the presence of the French, and of our 
German aids, and of our own presence at the Battle of 
York town and the Surrender. But what would that occa- 
sion have amounted to, either in the fact or in celebration 
' of it, if the English had not been there. [Laughter.] You 
may remember the composure of the hero that was going 
to the block, and felt that there was no occasion for hurry 



26 

or confusion in the attendant crowd, as nothing important 
could take place until he got there. [Laughter.] And so, in 
this past history, and in the present celebration, we recognize 
that it is not a question of personal mortification, or of 
personal triumph — not even of national mortification, or 
of national triumph. This was one of the great battles of 
the world, in which all the nations engaged, and all other 
nations had an everlasting interest, and from which they 
were to reap everlasting good. [Applause.] And I would 
like to know if the granddaughter of Geoege III. has ever 
had, from her subjects, British or Indian, any sweeter 
incense than has just now been poured out from the hearts 
of the American people, who freely give that homage to 
her virtues, as a woman, thac they deny to her sceptre and 
her crown as a queen. [Ap]3lause.] Who would not 
rather be a great man than a great king 'i Who would not 
rather be a great woman than a great queen ? [Applause.] 
Ah ! is there not a wider sovereignty over the race, and a 
deeper homage from human nature, than ever can come 
from an allegiance to power ? And for woman, though she 
be a queen, what personal power in human affairs can 
equal that of drawing a throb from every heart, and a 
tear from every eye, when she spoke to us as a woman, 
in the distress of our nation ? [Applause.] 

It was a very great thing for France to make the Treaty 
of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with a 
nation that, as yet, had received no acceptance from the 
Powers of the earth. And when we remember that France, 
in the contests of a thousand years, had found England no 
unequal match in the quarrels that belonged to the two 
nations, I must think that human history has shown 
nothing nobler than her espousal of this growing struggle 
between these colonists and the great powder of England. 
[Applause.] How much nearer France was to England 



27 

than we ! How miicli wider her possessions through the 
world, open to the thunders of the British navy and the 
prowess of the British army ! And when France, in a 
treaty, the equal terms of which will strike every reader 
with wonder, speaks of "the common cause," to be 
pursued until the result of our com^Dlete independence, 
governmental and commercial, was attained, I know 
nothing, in the way of "the bearing the burdens of one 
another," enjoined as the Christian spirit, that is greater 
than this stupendous action of France. [Applause.] 

The relations of blood and history that make England 
and us one, as we always shall be, do not, nevertheless, 
make it clear that there is not a closer feeling of attach- 
ment, after all, between us and France. It is a very great 
compliment, no doubt, in classical phrase, to be si)oken 
of '■^matre yulchra^ filia pulcJirior'''' — the fairer daughter 
of a fair mother. But, after all, it is a greater compliment 
to the daughter than to the mother. I don't know that 
maternal affection, the purest sentiment on earth, ever is 
quite pleased that the daughter is taller and fairer, and 
more winning in her ways than the mother is or ever was ; 
[laughter ;] and I do know, that there comes a time when 
the daughter leaves the mother and cleaves to a closer 
affection. And here were we, a young, growing, self- 
conscious, self-possessed damsel, just peeping from out 
our mother's apron, when there comes a gallant and a 
noble friend, who takes up our cause, and that, too, at a 
time when it was not quite apparent whether we should 
turn out a beauty or a hoyden. [Laughter and applause.] 
And that is our relation to France. Nothing can limit, 
nothing can disturb it ; nothing shall disi)arage it. It is 
that we, from that time and onwards, and now, finally, in 
the great consummation of two Republics united together 
against the world, represent, in a new sense, Shakespeaee's 



'28 

figure of the "unity and married calm of States." [Ap- 
plause.] 

The French people have the advantage of ns in a great 
inany things ; and I don't know that we have any real 
advantage of them, except in a superior opinion of our- 
selves. [Laughter.] God forbid that anybody should 
take that from us ! Indeed, great as is our affection and 
gratitude towards the French and German nations, there 
is one thing that Ave cannot quite put np with in those 
nations, and that is, that, but for them, the English and 
w^e should think ourselves the greatest nations in the 
world. [Laughter.] So, with all the bonds of amity 
between us and them, we must admit that the Frenchmen 
and Germans make a pretty good show on the field of 
history in the past, and, apparently, mean to have a pretty 
good share of the future of this world. [Applause.] In 
comparing the Yorktown era with the present day, we find 
that, then, a great many more Frenchmen came here than 
Germans ; but, now, a great many more Germans come 
here than Frenchmen. The original disparity of numbers 
seems to have been redressed by the later immigration, and 
we are reduced to that puzzled equilibrium of the haj)py 
swain, whenever we are obliged to choose sides in the 
contests between these nations — 

" How happy could I be with either, 
Were the other dear charmer away." 

[Laughter.] 

The French are a great people, in their conduct towards 
us in this respect, that the aid and sympathy and alliance 
has been all in our favor. They have done everything for 
us, and have been strong enough not to need anything 



29 

from us. [Applause.] "The fault of the French," to 
change a little Mr. Canning's memorable lines — 



*o^ 



" The fault of the French, unlike the Dutch, 
Is asking too little and. giving too much." 

[Laughter and applause.] 

Now this treaty commences with the very sensible state- 
ment, that the two nations, being desirous of placing their 
commerce and correspondence upon permanent and equita- 
ble grounds, His Most Christian Majesty and the United 
States of America had thought, to that end, it was best to 
place these relations upon perfect equality and reciprocity, 
without any of those burdensome i^references which are 
the source of debate, of misunderstanding, and of discon- 
tent between nations. In this spirit it is, no doubt, that 
we have each pursued towards each other, in commerce, 
that most equitable and equal system, by prohibitory 
duties, of keeping all of each other's products out of the 
other that we can. [Laughter.] Well, the Frenchmen 
knew, after all, that the Americans can never get along 
without their wines, and without their silks, and without 
their jewels, and without their art, and without their 
science, aud without the numberless elegancies which make 
life, even in our back woods, tolerable. And we know 
that they can't very well dispense with our wheat, and 
corn, and the oil from the earth, and the cotton to weave 
into those delicate tissues with which they clothe the 
world. [Applause.] So that, after all, these superficial 
barriers of customs duties don't really obstruct our com- 
merce. And even if they have too much of our pork, as 
would seem to be the notion at present, we have no desire 
to dispense with their wines. [Laughter.] 

But there are some other interchanges between nations 



30 

besides those of commerce in the raw material, or in the 
products of skilled industry. If we could make more of a 
moral interchange with the French ; if we could take some 
of the moral sunlight which shines upon that great nation ; 
if we could be more cheerful, more gay, more debonair ; 
and they could take from us some of the superfluous ice 
which we produce, morally as well as naturally, and some 
of that cold resistance against the inflammation of enthusi- 
asm which sometimes raises a conflagration among their 
citizens at home. AVe have no tariff on either side that 
would interfere in the blending and intercommunication of 
the moral resources of both nations that shall make us 
more and more one people in laws, liberties and national 
glory, and in all the passions that guide and animate the 
conduct of nations. [Applause.] 

I am happy to announce myself to you, gentlemen, what 
I am vain enough to suppose you would not suspect, that 
I am a contemporary of Lafayette. As a Boston school- 
boy I stood in their ranks at Boston when Lafayette, in 
1825, passed with a splendid cortege along the malls of 
Boston Common. I had the pleasure, as a descendant of 
one of his Revolutionary friends, to be presented to him 
personally, and to hear him say that he well remembered 
his old friend, my grandfather. [Cheers.] 

This pleasing courtesy, it may be said, was all French 
politeness. Bat I can say to these Frenchmen, that 
whether they believe one another at home or not, we 
always believe them in this country, [Applause.] 

And now your toast desires that this friendship, thus 
beginning and continued, shall be perpetual. Who is to 
stop it ? No power but ourselves and yourselves, sir, 
[turning to the French Minister,] can interrupt it. What 
motive have you — what motive have we — what sentiment, 
but that, on either side, would be a dishonor to the two 



31 

nations, can ever breathe a breath to spoillts splendor and 
its purity ! [Applause.] And, sir, your munificence and 
your affection is again to be impressed upon the American 
people, in that noble present you are designing to make to us 
in the great statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World ;" 
an unexampled munificence from the private citizens of one 
nation to the jieople of another. We are to furnish the island 
for its site, and the pedestal to place the statue on. This our 
people will do, with an enthusiasm equal to your own. 
But, after all, the obligation will be wholly ours, for it is 
to be a light-liouse in our great Jiarhor — a splendid monu^ 
ment, to add new beauty to the glorious Bay of N^ew-York. 
[Applause.] 

The Chairman gave the seventh regular toast : 

"Commerce. — The strong bond of International Union, 
and the Interpreter of International wants," and introduced 
Mr. A. A. Low, Ex-President of the Chamber of Com- 
merce. [Applause.] 

Mr. Low spoke as follows : 

SPEECH OF MR. A. A. LOW. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : While the world is 
divided into various nationalities, under many and differ- 
ing systems of government, the laws which regulate their 
relations to each other must necessarily differ. And, 
under the different conditions in which they exist, the 
policy which dictates laws to govern those relations, must 
be determined, in one country, by considerations that do 
not affect, in the same manner, the interests of another. 

Diversities of climate and diversities of soil may dispose, 
or forbid, the people of one land to compete with those of 



32 

another — endowed by nature with opportunities for agri- 
culture more or less favorable tlian their own ; while it is 
manifest that a nation which includes within its extensive 
domain, every variety of climate and soil, may contend 
successfully with smaller States, separated from each other 
by antagonistic or mistaken views of their respective in- 
terests. 

The political economist will vainly strive to adjust his 
theory of free trade (as opposed to the law of protection) 
alike to the old and the new ; to nations advanced by 
many centuries of experience in the pursuit of all the 
useful arts, and, in like manner, to other nations just 
springing into life, or lacking, yet, that education which 
only comes with time and opportunity ; to nations whose 
supremacy in all the diversified industries which serve 
to enrich, is everywhere acknowledged ; and, alike, to 
other nations struggling for advancement in the same pur- 
suits, and determined, at whatever cost of training, to 
stand upon an equal footing with those that most excel. 
[Applause.] 

Nor will th§ difficulties w^hich attend the general ap- 
plication of the theory referred to, have been fully njet, 
when such disparities as are now suggested have been 
overcome. For it is obvious that the financial and moral 
standards by which the value of labor is regulated and 
paid, vary in difl'erent countries, and, to some extent, con- 
trol their legislation ; and it is the duty of the statesman 
to guard the interests of the laborer ; to elevate him in the 
scale of being, and j)ermit him to share, in the largest pos- 
sible degree, in the fruits of the common toil. 

But the problem that perplexes the j)hilosoplier is 
solved in a practical way, by a host of immigrants, with 
strong arms, skilled hands and fertile brains, who come 
from every part of the world, in yearly increasing numbers, 



33 



to swell the population of our favored land, and add to its 
producing and creative power. They come here, because 
work is plentiful and bread is cheap. Our boundless 
prairies of the West invite the tiller of the earth to profit 
by the bounty of a virgin soil. Our mountain slopes and 
hillsides attract the miners of England and Wales to the 
vast deposits of iron and coal which are found above the 
level of the river and of the valley, or just beneath 
the surface of the earth ; while the precious metals, which 
so abound in Colorado, Nevada and other States and Terri- 
tories of the West, draw and reward the patient seekers 
after their hidden riches. 

Our foundries and factories and diversified industries 
of every name and nature, offer to the skilled workmen of 
Great Britain and Europe a fascinating choice of occupa- 
tions, and it is not difficult for these adventurers, of every 
trade and profession, nor even for the hardy sons of toil, 
to discover, that, if the cost of living is greater than in 
the countries whence they came, the pay is better also. 
More than 1,300 millions of dollars, deposited in the 
savings banks of the United States, attest the wisdom 
of the immigrant's logic, and the success of his life ; while 
our schools, swarming with his well-fed and well-clad 
offspring, testify to his thrift, and to his honorable regard 
for their highest welfare. [Applause.] 

Fifty millions of people supplement all the laws upon 
the statute book, with the law of gravitation, and this 
attracts anew with daily augmenting power. 

I^or is it to be forgotten that other considerations and 
higher motives, than those hitherto suggested, stimulate 
emigration from other continents to our own ; that the 
love of freedom and of free institutions, the desire for 
exemption from military bondage, a wish to participate in 
the choice of rulers, and a cherished purpose to worship 



84 

God according to the dictates of conscience, are powerful 
incentives, often acting upon the will with a resistless sway. 
The moral effect of an immigration amounting to three or 
four hundred thousand people, annually, upon our national 
character is not easily defined ; nor is it an approjjriate 
subject for present inquiry ; but I may venture to say, in 
the presence of our honored guests from abroad, that the 
blood of the Huguenot and the blood of the Puritan com- 
mingle in the veins of their descendants, and that Teuton, 
Celt and Saxon re-inforce the living stream — in whose on- 
ward flow is found the noblest type of American manhood. 
[Applause.] 

These thoughts appear to me not more apposite to the 
introduction than to the elucidation of my theme. The 
villages, towns and cities which have sprung up amid the 
fertile fields of the West as fast as the growing grain, and 
the vast accumulations of wealth in the great cities of the 
North and East, all point to our extended intercourse with 
the populous states of Europe, as their primal cause. 

The diminutive craft in which the great discoverer, and 
others of the early navigators groped their way to our 
"New found land," were but pygmy types of the stately 
ships, which, at the beginning of the present century, en- 
circled the Globe ; and the contrast between the two is not 
more marked than that which may be drawn between the 
"Sirius" and "Great Western," with their paddle Avheels 
of five and forty years ago, and the gigantic propellers of 
our own day, whose lengthened keels span two seas, be- 
tween whose crests the vessels of Columbus would have 
been lost to sight. [Applause.] 

These steamers of modern build, so large, so beautiful 
and so swift, have hardly left their "cradles" on the 
Clyde ere they are ready to breast the fiercest gales, and 
they are so little retarded by wind and sea, that we can al- 



35 

most measure tlie passage of time by their movements to 
and fro. One and another, they bear upon their sterns 
the names of all the principal States and cities they leave 
behind them, as well as the name* of all our cities. States 
and Territories ; and this nomenclature is significant of 
their far-reaching and all-embracing mission. 

The railways which bind together, with ligaments of steel, 
all the States of our Union, and the iron ships that cross 
and recross the broad Atlantic in continuous lines, stretch- 
ing from land to land, are the twin agents of a commerce 
that pervades every land and every sea, uniting the peoples 
of the Old World and the New, as though they were one 
in lineage and language, as they now are one in hope and 
aspiration, and, so recently, were one in the anguish of a 
common grief. 

The wants of a people who thus trace their origin and 
growth to all the races of civilized man are manifold, and 
not easily defined. 

They are co-extensive with the habits and tastes which 
prevail in foreign lands as well as in our own. The maga- 
zines and shops so numerous in all parts of our City, re- 
plenished every day by fresh arrivals from abroad, afford 
some idea of their extent and variety. They concern both 
the physical and intellectual man. 

They are not limited to those things which minister to 
our comfort and convenience, but extend beyond the neces- 
sary and useful to the elegant and ornamental— to what- 
ever imparts an added charm to our domestic life. They 
spring from a love of the beautiful in art, and seek grati- 
fication wherever the chisel and the pencil have wrought 
with the greatest skill, or come nearest to perfection. They 
are indicated by the numerous museums and libraries es- 
tablished from year to year, not in the metropolis only, 
but in all the considerable towns and cities of our Union, 



36 

and by numberless societies formed for the advancement 
of knowledge in its simplest and highest forms of de- 
velopment. They culminate with the wise and good in a 
desire for the ripest fruits of European culture and 
scholarly attainment. And, in order that they may profit 
thereby, our sons seek access to the severer methods and 
more finished education which the schools and colleges of 
England, France and Gfermany are supposed to offer to the 
student. 

In the same spirit we welcome to our shores the refined, 
educated, and enlightened, of every land, hoping that our 
intercourse with the wisest and best will inure to our highest 
good ; that, in the far off, if not in the near, future, our Re- 
public may boast, if boast it will, not of its material wealth, 
but of the widest diffusion of all the graces that adorn the 
life and enrich the heart. [Applause.] 

To the next regular toast, "The Old Woeld and the 
New," Hon. Carl Schuez was called upon to respond. 
He was received with loud and prolonged cheers, and 
spoke as follows : 

SPEECH OF HON. CARL SCHtJEZ. 

Me. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Chambee of 
CoMMEECE : If you had been called upon to respond to the 
toast, "The Old World and the New," as frequently as I 
have, you would certainly find as much difficulty as I find in 
saying anything of the Old World that is new, or of the 
New World that is not old. [Applause.] And the embar- 
rassment grows upon me as I grow older, as it would upon 
all of you, except, perhaps, upon my good friend, Mr. 
EvAETS, who is determined never to grow old, and whose 
witty sayings are always as good as new. [Laughter.] 



37 

Still, gentlemen, the scenes which we have been beholding, 
during the last few weeks, have had something of a fresh 
insj)iration in them. We have been celebrating a great 
warlike event — not great in the number of men that were 
killed in it, but very great in the number of people it has 
made happy. It has made happy, not only the people of 
this country, who now count over fifty millions, but it has 
made hapj)ier than they were before the nations of the Old 
World, too ; who, combined, count a great many more. 
[Applause. ] American Independence was declared at Phila- 
delphia, on the 4th of July, 1776, by those who were born 
upon this soil ; but American Independence was virtually 
accomplished by that very warlike event I speak of, on 
the field of Yorktown, where the Old World lent a helping 
hand to the New. [Applause.] To be sure, there was a 
part of the Old World, consisting of the British, and, I am 
sorry to say, some German soldiers, who strove to keep 
down the aspirations of the New ; but they were there in 
obedience to the command of power which they were not 
able to resist, while that part of the Old World which 
fought upon the American side was here of its own free 
will, as- volunteers. [Cheers.] It might be said, that most 
of the regular soldiers of France were here also by the 
command of power ; but it will not be forgotten, that there 
was not only Lafayette, led here by his youthful enthu- 
siasm for the American cause, but there was France herself, 
a great power of the Old World, appearing as a volunteer 
on a great scale. [Cheers.] So were there, as volunteers, 
those who brought their individual swords to the service of 
the New World. There was the gallant Steubeist, the great 
organizer, who trained the American army to victory, 
[cheers,] a representative of that great nation whose 
monuments stand not only upon hundreds of battle 



38 

fields of arms, but whose prouder monuments stand 
uiDon many more battle fields of tliougbt. [Cheers.] 
There was Pulaski, the Pole, and De Kalb, who died 
for American indeiDendence before it was achieved ; and 
there were many more, Frenchmen, Germans, Swedes, 
Hollanders, Englishmen, even, who did not obey the be- 
hests of power. [Cheers.] And so it may be said that the 
cause of the New World was the cause of the volunteers of 
the Old. [Cheers.] And it has remained the cause of 
volunteers in peace as well as in war, for since then we 
have received millions of them, and they are arriving now 
in a steady stream — thousands of them every week. I 
have the honor to say, gentlemen, that I am one of them. 
[Cheers.] 

Nor is it probable that this volunteering in mass will 
ever stop, for it is in fact not drawn over here by the 
excitement of war as much as by the victories of peace. 

It was, therefore, natural that the great celebration of 
that warlike event should have been turned, or rather that 
it should have turned itself into a festival of peace on the 
old field of Yorktown — peace illustrated by the happy 
faces of a vast multitude, and by all the evidences of thrift 
and prosperity and well-being; peace illustrated by the 
very citizen-soldiery who apjpeared there to ornament as a 
pageant, with their brilliant bayonets, that peaceful festi- 
val ; peace illustrated by the warmth of a grand popular 
welcome offered to the honored representatives of the Old 
World ; peace illustrated still more by their friendly meet- 
ing upon American soil, whatever their contentions at 
home may have been ; [loud cheers ;] jDeace glorified by 
what has already been so eloquently referred to by Dr. 
Storks and Mr. Evarts ; that solemn salute offered to 
the British flag, to the very emblem of the old antagonism 
of a hundred years ago ; and that salute echoing in every 



39 

patriotic American heart ; [cheers ;] to be followed, as the 
telegraph tells us now, by the carrying of the American 
flag in honor in the Lord Mayor' s procession in London — 
all this a cosmopolitan peace festival, in which the Old 
World sent its representatives to join in rejoicing over the 
prosperity and progress of the New. [Cheers.] 

There conld hardly have been a happier expression of 
this spirit of harmony than was presented in the serenade 
offered to these brave gentlemen — the representatives of the 
honored name of Steubp:n, on the evening of their arrival 
in New- York — the band inlaying, first, " The Watch on the 
Rhine," followed by the "Marseillaise," and "God Save 
the Queen," and then the martial airs of the Old World 
resolving themselves into the peaceful strains — the crown- 
ing glory — of "Hail Columbia" and "Yankee Doodle." 
[Cheers.] 

The cordiality of feeling which binds the Old and the New 
World together, and which found so touching, so tender, 
so wonderful an expression in the universal heartfelt sorrow 
of all civilized mankind at the great national bereavement 
which recently has befallen us, can hardly fail to be 
strengthened by this visit of the Old World guests whom 
we delight to honor. [Cheers.] They have seen now some- 
thing of our country and our people, most of them 
probably for the first time, and I have no doubt they have 
arrived at the conclusion that the country for which Lafay- 
ette and Steuben and Rochambeau fought is a good 
country, inhabited by a good people, [cheers,] a good 
country and a good people, worthy of being fought for by 
the noblest men of the earth ; and I trust also, when these 
gentlemen return to their own homes, they will go back 
with the assurance that the names of their ancestors who 
drew their swords for American liberty stand in the heart 
of every true American side by side with the greatest 



'American names, and that althougli a century has elapsed 
since the surrender of Yorktown, still the gratitude of the 
American heart is as young and fresh and warm to-day as 
it was at the moment when Coenwallis hauled down his 
flag. [Applause.] 

It seems to me also, gentlemen, that we have already 
given some practical evidence of that gratitude. The in- 
dependence they helped to achieve has made the American 
nation so strong and active and prosperous, that when the 
Old World runs short of provisions, the New stands always 
ready, and eager even, to fill the gap ; [laughter ;] and by 
and by we may even send over some i3roducts-of other 
industries for their accommodation. [Applause.] In fact, 
we have been so very liberal and generous in that resi)ect, 
that some of our friends on the other side of the sea are 
beginning to think there may be a little too much of a good 
thing, and are talking of shutting it off by tricks of taxa- 
tion. [Laughter.] However we are not easily baffled. Not 
content with the contribution of our material products, we 
even send them from time to time some of our wisdom, as, for 
instance, a few months ago our friend,. Mr. Evaets, went 
over there to tell them about the double standard — all that 
we knew and a good deal more. [Laughter.] We might 
even be willing to send them all the accumulated stock of 
our silver, if they will give us their gold for it. [Cheers.] 
It is to be apprehended that this kind of generosity will 
not be fittingly aj)preciated, and that in that respect they 
may j)refer the wisdom of the Old World to that of the 
New. [Laughter. ] 

However, we shall not quarrel about that, for, seriously 
speaking, the New and Old World must and will, in the 
commercial jDoint of view, be of infinite use to one an- 
other as mutual customers, and our commercial relations 
will grow more fruitful to both sides from year to year, 



41 

and from day to day, as we remain true to the good old' 
maxim, "Live and let live." [Cheers.] Nor is there the 
least speck of danger in the horizon threatening to disturb 
the friendliness of international understanding between 
the Old World and the New. That cordial international 
understanding rests upon a very simple, natural and solid 
basis. We rejoice with the nations of the Old World in all 
their successes, all their prosperity, and all their happiness, 
and we profoundly and earnestly sympathize with them 
whenever a misfortune overtakes them. But one thing we 
shall never think of doing, and that is, interfering in their 
affairs. [Cheers.] And, on the other hand, they will give 
us always their sympathy in good and evil days, as they 
have done heretofore ; and we expect that they will never 
think of interfering with our affairs, on this side of the 
ocean. [Loud applause.] Our limits are very distinctly 
drawn, and certainly no just or prudent power will ever 
think of upsetting them. The Old World and the New 
will ever live in harmonious accord, as long as we do not 
try to jump over their fences, and they do not try to 
jump over ours. [Cheers.] This being our understanding, 
nothing will be more natural than friendship and goodwill 
between the nations of the two sides of the Atlantic ; the 
only danger ahead of us might be that arising from alto- 
gether too sentimental a fondness for one another, which 
may lead us into love's jealousies and quarrels. Already 
some of our honored guests may feel like complaining 
that we have come very near killing them with kindness. 
[Laughter.] At any rate, we are permitted to hope, that, 
a hundred years hence, our descendants may assemble 
again to celebrate the memory of the feast of cordial 
friendship which we now enjoy ; and, when they do so, 
they will come to an American Republic of three hundred 
millions of people, to a City of New- York of ten million 



42 

iuhabitants, and to a Delmonico's twenty stories high, 
with a station for air-shij)s running between Europe and 
America on the top of it ; [cheers ;] and then our guests 
may even expect to find comfortable hotels, and decent 
accommodations at the deserted village of Yorktown, 
[Laughter and cheers. ] 

But, in the mean time, I am sure our Old World guests, 
who to-night delight us with their i^resence, will never 
cease to be proud of it, that the great names, of which 
thej^ are the honored representatives, are inscribed upon 
some of the most sjolendid pages of the New World's 
history, and will live forever in the grateful affection of 
the New World's heart. [Loud applause.] 

The Chairman gave the ninth and last regular toast : 

" The City of Paeis. — May the social ties entered into 
by our ancestors with the Nation of which this beautiful 
City is the Capital, and cordially maintained 'through the 
vicissitudes of a century, be strengthened and perpetu- 
ated," [applause,] and called upon Mr. John Ausxiisr 
Stevens to resjDond. 

Mr. Stevens was warmly received. He spoke in French. 
The following is a translation of his speech : 

SPEECH OF MR. JOHN AUSTIN STEVENS. 

Mr. President : It is with pride and pleasure, that, at 
the request of the Committee of the Chamber, I reply to 
the toast, "The City of Paris ;" that beautiful city, which 
the founder of the Bourbon dynasty, the glorious ancestor 
of His Christian Majesty, who sent to America the succor 
of his kingdom, was pleased to style, in a phrase now ac- 
cepted in a larger sense, " Notre bonne Ville de Paris." 



43 

At the zenitli of the power of the Roman Empire, when 
the Imperial City was the capital of the world, it is said, 
that when travellers met upon the great highways which 
centered in the Latin City and the question passed as to 
whither each was journeying, the common answer was, 
" Tendimus in Latiumy (We are going to Rome.) So 
in modern days, when friends departing upon foreign 
travel are asked their destination, the usual answer is, 
" We are going to Pjiris.'" 

In the days of packet ships, when the stormy passage of 
the Atlantic was undertaken with dread, a visit to Paris 
was of difficult fulfil hnent, and those to whom it was possi- 
ble were looked upon, on their return, as specially privi- 
leged persons, and so rare were they, that it gave rise to 
the well-known saying of one of our wits, "All good 
Americans when they die go to Paris." But now that steam 
palaces sail daily from this port, this wonderful Capital, the 
centre of civilization and of art — the Paradise of travellers 
— is of easy access, and its elegant hospitalities are to 
Americans a household word. 

The distinguished orators of the evening have dwelt at 
length ujDon the amity of nations. In our modern civiliza- 
tion, the amity of cities is of equal importance. It adds to 
the bonds of national interest the closer ties of commercial 
. and social relations. The friendship of Paris and New- York 
has been unbroken since the establishment of our inde^Dend- 
ence. New- York, as a commercial city, should never forget 
that it was through the City of Paris that her first commu- 
nications with the nations of Europe were opened. In 
the fall of 1783, even before the final evacuation of 
this City by the British troops, a packet line had already 
been established by the French Government, through 
the personal efforts of Lafayette, from the j)ort of 
L' Orient to New- York ; a line consisting of five first- 



44 

class ships, Le Courrier cle 1' Europe, Le Courrier de 
rAmerique, Le Courrier de New- York, Le Courrier 
de r Orient and T Alligator. The agent at New- York was 
Hector St. John, the Consul-General of France, and the 
manager, Mr. William Seton, a member of this Chamber. 
In the commencement of the enterprise the jDublic were 
informed that the French packet was an immediate 
channel of conveyance for letters to and from all parts of 
the continent of Europe, the General Post Office at Paris 
having a daily intercourse with all the Capitals. 

This direct communication with foreign nations was the 
beginning of that rapid march of the enterprise- of New- 
York, which in a century has made of her the first com- 
mercial port of the world. 

Paris and New- York resemble each other in one important 
feature ; they alone of modern cities include in their popu- 
lation the representatives of all nations. London is a City 
of Englishmen, Berlin of Germans, Rome of Italians ; all 
are Metroj)olitan cities. Paris and New- York alone are 
Cosmopolitan ; on their streets all races mingle. 

This was a characteristic of the American city even in 
colonial days. For nearly three centuries she has been the 
cynosure of the eyes of emigrants, though no prophetic 
vision could realize the marvellous exhibition of the land- 
ing at her wharves in the present year of a half million of 
people, the population of a city in itself. She has been 
always noted for her hospitalities. In the page which re- 
cords them the name of France has large place. Orleans 
and Bonaparte, each as members of the generous nation 
which came to our aid in the darkest hour of our struggle, 
have been welcomed in turn — and names, too, as famous, 
though not of such high import. Talleyrand and De 
TocQUEViLLE — and in this gastronomic hall an epicure 
may be pleased to know that Brillat-Savarin once trod 



45 

our streets, and at the beginning of this century even en- 
enjoyed our cuisine. Of Delmonico it may be to-day 
justly claimed that he enjoys a cosmopolitan reputation of 
which history offers no example, Not the Cafe Foy, nor 
that of Very or the Trois Freres Provengaux has enjoy- 
ed such world wide fame as this model establishment 
which for three generations has maintained its pristine ce- 
lebrity, and whose artistic inventions hold high place in 
the menus of the best Paris establishments of the pres- 
ent day, Was.it the proverbial courtesy of the most polite 
race in history that prompted the remark on a recent oc- 
casion, when one of our merchant princes gave a breakfast 
worthy of Luculllts on a railroad car moving at the rate 
of fifty miles an hour, to say, " VV"e may well envy you in- 
deed. You have not only the best wines but the best cooks 
of France." Most cordially has Paris returned the social 
courtesies New- York has tendered. Under every regime 
the representative American citizen has been welcome in 
her salons, and to-day a largt^ American colony, established 
in the very heart of the French Capital, bears testimony to 
the good feeling between the two races. 

Nor have the commercial relations between the two cities 
been less intimate. What travelled American but knows 
the name of H<>ttin(xUek, the great banker of Paris, who 
for near a century has held the golden keys of that Para- 
dise to which allusion has been made. 

It is needless here to refer to Paris as the arbiter of 
fashion and taste. In the manufacture of those indispen- 
sable nothings which are known throughout the world as 
Articles de Paris, she is supreme. New- York claims no 
rivalry, content to emulate her example and follow in her 
footsteps. This high stand Paris has held undisputed for 
centuries. Within the last generation, however, she has also 
asserted her unquestioned superiority as the model city of 



46 

modern civilization on a more elevated plane. She alone 
has understood the conditions of modern life. Her muni- 
cipal regulations are not approached by those of any other 
city. She alone has known how to control constructions 
in an intelligent manner, to care for her streets, to arrange 
easy communication, to secure order, to save life, and in 
minutest detail to look to the protection and comfort of 
the individual. In these regards Paris is beyond compari- 
son in advance of any capital of ancient or modern days. 

Who reads or hears of the marvels of her architecture, 
the splendor of her public buildings, the majesty of her 
endless boulevards, the accumulated beauty of -the centu- 
ries that have passed since — the Letitia of the Romans — she 
was the favorite resort of the Emperors, without a burning- 
desire to be a personal witness of her myriad wonders ? And 
to him w^ho has seen, the impression is never effaced from 
the mind ; and if, disregarding the ancient warning, he has 
not drank deep, a thirst insatiable remains for a more per- 
fect draught. No nation has been exempt from the gravi- 
tating charm of her civilization. Representatives of each 
have carried to her gates the homage of their admiration, 
and no European education has been for centuries held 
complete that has not received its final polish in her 
society. 

What a. combination of picturesque nature and artistic 
adornment the old Cite presents seated in majestic pose 
upon the Seine, and embracing within her widespread 
lustrous arms the northern and southern faubourgs from 
Montmartre to St. Germain. Notre Dame, sober and se- 
rene, with her massive towers ; La Sainte Chapelle, with 
its marvellous spire, marvel of architectural taste, piercing 
the sky with the lightness and boldness of the lark' s flight : 
while on the bank below, the ancestral Louvre, with its 
varied structure, stands an historic monitor of past glo- 



47 

ries. To him, however, who, in the well-worn x>hrase, 
connait son Paris, (knows his Paris,) what a perpetual 
feast of beauty her abundant stores of art ]3resent, instruct- 
ing the mind, developing the intelligence, while they dazzle 
the eager eye. These for the studious and reflective. Not 
less the bounteous supx)ly for those Avhose thoughts are in 
lighter vein. To these, the votaries of pleasure, the volup- 
tuaries of sense, she offers an endless variety of amusement, 
refined and polished to the highest pitch. All that imagi- 
nation can conceive and ingenuity can execute is here not 
only within reach of the fortunate, but in large measure 
within that also of the humblest ranks of society. To 
foster art, to i)opularize forms of beauty, to decorate daily 
life, has always been the care of her far-seeing, sagacious 
municipality. By rendering their city attractive, even at 
great immediate and long unremiinerated expense, they 
have discovered the secret of development, of wealth and of 
charm. It will be well for us of New- York, if we seek to 
hold her proud place on these western shores that we fol- 
low her example, though at long distance, even though we 
have to sacrifice something of individual right to the com- 
mon benefit, to the common ornament. 

So much for our social and commercial relations. In 
this hour of historic reminiscence it must not be forgotten 
that the insignia of the City of Paris has been for ages a 
ship in full sail, nor that the magnificent vessel, the 
Flag Ship of the Great Admiral who led to our succor the 
greatest naval armament which had ever left the shores of 
Europe, was the Ville de Paris. Nor yet can we forget 
that, without the French fleet, there would have been 
no surrender at Yorktown, and that we should not be here 
gathered to-night to welcome our distinguished guests, 
among whom we delight to see a titular representative of 
De Grasse himself. 



48 , 

It may be pardoned me, on an occasion of this character, 
an avowal of personal satisfaction and pride, in the pre- 
sence of the descendants of the gallant officers who fought 
at Yorktown, and of the family of Lafayette, in recall- 
ing to mind that it was my grandfather who commanded all 
the artillery at Saratoga, was the active officer in com- 
mand of the same arm at Yorktown, and that it was he 
who was selected by Lafayette as Chief of Artillery, of 
the expedition of the spring of 1781, which, though unsuc- 
cessful in itself, was the prelude to the glorious campaign 
which terminated at Yorktown. 

Mr. President: In the name of the Committee, I now 
beg to express the thanks of the Chamber of Commerce to 
our distinguished guests for the honor of their presence at 
this Banquet. May this their visit be the harbinger of 
many such in the future. May such gatherings, constant 
in the French capital, be more frequent here. May the ex- 
j)erience of American hospitality temx)t our guests to renew 
their visit, and persuade their friends at home to waive 
• somewhat of that exclusive worship of their own capital, 
which holds every hour passed away from it as an hour 
lost ; and may the memories of this delightful evening be 
long cherished, and serve to draw closer the social ties 
which bind together our two Nations and their social capi- 
tals, Paris and New- York. 

On the conclusion of Mr. Steveis^s' speech, Mr. James 
Talcott i)roposed three cheers for the guests of the even- 
ing, which were heartily given. The Chairman then closed 
the entertainment, and, before midnight, the company 
separated. 



lERCHANTS AND OTHERS PRESENT OR REPRESENTED 
AT THE BANQUET. 



Mr. David D. Acker, 
Mr, John T. Agnew, 
Mr. Samuel D. Babcock, 
Mr. Latimer Bailey, 
Mr. T>. Kellogg Baker, 
Mr. Francis Baker, 
Mr. C. C. Baldwin, 
Mr. O. D. Baldwin, 
Mr. Edward Barr, 
Mr. George H. Bend, 
Mr. Philip Bissinger, 
Mr. BiRDSEYE Blakeman, 
Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss, 
Mr. William Borden, 
Mr. John B. Bouton, 
Mr. Conrad Braker, Jr., 
Mr. James M. Brown, 
Mr. Joseph H. Brown, 
Mr. Jules E. Brugiere, 
Mr. William Buchanan, 
Mr. Charles Butler, 
Mr. Hugh N. Camp, 
Mr. Oliver S. Carter, 
Mr. Julius Catlin, Jr., 
Mr. Nathan Chandler, 
Mr. Alfred C. Cheney, 
Hon. S. B. Chittenden, 



Mr. William P. Clyde, 

Mr. Charles H. Coffin, 

Mr. Clarence Lyman Collins, 

Hon. Edward Cooper, 

Mr. Marvelle W. Cooper, 

Mr. Frederick H. Cossitt, 

Mr. JohnCrerar, 

Mr. Frederick Cromwell, 

Mr. John S. Davidson, 

Mr. Frederick W. Devoe, 

Mr. A\'illiam E. Dodge, Jr., 

Mr. James M. Dunbar, 

Mr. William C. Duntox, 

Mr. Joseph P. Earle, 

Mr. Franklin Edson, 

Mr, Benjamin H. Field, 

Mr. Cyrus W. Field, 

Mr. Selig S. Fisher, 

Gen'l Clinton B. Fisk, 

Mr. William M. Fliess, 

Mr. Charles R. Flint, 

Mr. William H. Fogg, 

Mr. Henry Gitterman, 

Mr, J. Warren Goddard, 

Mr. Joseph Grose, 

Mr. William H. Guion, 

Mr. F. Frederick Gunther, 



60 



Mr. Wm. He>'ry Gunthee, 
Mr. Ben Ali Haggin, 
Mr. Isaac Hall, 
Mr. William F. Halsey, 
Mr. Oliver Harriman, 
Mr. Walter T. Hatch, 
Mr. Henry E. Hawley, 
Mr. Edward L. Hedden, 
Mr. Abraham Herrman, 
Mr. Henry Herrman, 
Mr. Henry Hilton, 
Mr. Robert L. Hoguet, 
Mr. William H. T. Hughes, 
Mr. Solon Humphreys, 
Mr. Seymour L. Husted, 
Mr. Isaac Ickelheimer, 
Mr. John H. Inman, 
Mr. Adrian Iselin, 
Mr. D. Willis James, 
Mr. Gerhard Janssen, 
Mr. Morris K. Jesup, 
Mr. George Jones, 
Mr. John D. Jones, 
Mr. Augustus D, Juilliard, 
Mr. A. Gracie King, 
Mr. Frederick Kuhne, 
Mr. Charles G. Landon, 
Mr. George W. Lane, 
Mr. Woodbury Langdon, 
Mr. Charles Lanier, 
Mr. Peter H. Leonard, 
Mr. Julius Levy, 
Mr. Samuel Levy, 
Mr. A. A. Low, 
Mr. James McCreery, 



Mr. Richard A. McCurdy^ 
Mr. Robert Maclay, 
Mr. George C. Magoun, 
Mr. Charles Mali, 
Mr. Henry C. Meyer, 
Hon. Edwin D. Morgan, 
Mr. J. PiERPONT Morgan, 
Mr, George Mosle, 
Mr. Jordan L. Mott, 
Mr. Elkan Naumburg, 
Mr. Jose F. Navarro, 
Mr. William C. Noyes, 
Mr. Joseph J. O'Donohue, 
Mr. Emil Oelberman, 
Mr. Eugene O'Sullivan, 
Mr. J. Seaver Page, 
Mr. Joseph Park, 
Mr. Forrest H. Parker, 
Mr. William A. Paton, 
Mr. George W. Perkins, 
Mr. James W. Pinchot, 
Mr. John F. Plummer, 
Mr. Edward E. Poor, 
Gen'l Horace Porter, 
Mr. Howard Potter, 
Mr. John F. Praeger, 
Mr. George W. Quintard, 
Mr. John L. Riker, 
Mr. John Riley, 
Mr. John Roach, 
Mr. Daniel C. Robbins, 
Mr. Lewis Roberts, 
Mr. George H. Robinson, 
Hon. Horace Russell, 
Mr. John Ruszits, 



51 



Mr. Thomas Rutter, Mr. 

Mr. William P. St. John, Mr. 

Mr. Edwards S. Sanford, Mr. 

Mr, GusTAv Schwab, Mr. 

Mr. De Witt J. Seligman, Mr. 

Mr. Jesse Seligman, Mr. 

Mr. Samuel Shethar, Mr. 

Mr. Isaac Sippili, Mr, 

Mr. George P. Slade, Mr. 

Mr. Samuel Sloan, Mr. 

Mr, Charles S. Smith, Mr, 

Mr. Ambrose Snow, Mr. 

Mr. Elihv Spicer, Jr., Mr. 

Mr. Elias Spingarn, Mr. 

Mr. James H. Stebbins, Mr. 

Mr. Solomon Stein, Mr. 

Mr. John Austin Stevens, Mr. 

Mr. Vernon K. Stevenson, Mr, 

Mr. Charles B. Stockwell, Mr. 

Mr. David M. Stone, Mr. 

Hon. James S. T. Stranahan, Mr. 

Mr. IsiDOR Straus, Mr, 



William L. Strong, 
William Sulzbaoher, 
Henry M. Taber, 
Frederick L. Talcott, 
James Talcott, 
Frederic Taylor, 
Jacob R. Telfair, 
John T. Terry, 
Francis B. Thurber, 
Charles L. Tiffany, 
William H. Tillinghast, 
Lawson Valentine, 
Salem H. Wales, 
John R. Waters, 
William H. Webb, 
Charles B. Webster, 
Wm, Boerum Wetmore, 
Jerome B. Wheeler, 
N. F. Whiting, 
Francis W. Williams, 
George Wilson, 
Louis Windmuller. 



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